Toy horseshoe game



Sept. 16, 1969 R. F. TINER ET AL 3,467,384

TOY HORSE-SHOE GAME Filed Nov. 14, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORE 205.477 7-? 77-5e BY 0.5, Bin/v00 M %WM flrraen/inf Sept. 16, 1969 R. F. TINER ET AL 3,467,384

TOY HORSESHOE GAME Filed NOV. 14, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 87 93 5.11: I {a 96 84 26 7/ h L United States Patent 3,467,384 TOY HORSESHOE GAME Robert F. Tiner, 6715 Santa Juanita Ave., Orangevale, Calif. 95662, and O. B. Brandon, 517 8th St., Broderick, Calif. 95605 Filed Nov. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 593,951 Int. Cl. A63b 65/12, 9/02 US. Cl. 273-101 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE On each end of an elongated gameboard there is mounted a slidable carriage resiliently biased toward the opposite end, each carriage having a toy horse mounted thereon serving as a finger hold. Located adjacent each carriage is a peg movable between a vertical attitude and a position flush with the gameboard surface. The object of the game is to propel a toy horseshoe placed ahead of the slidable carriage (with the carriage in retracted position) toward and into encircling engagement with the peg in vertical attitude on the other end of the board.

The invention relates to games played on a board wherein the object of the game is to propel along the playing surface of the board a slidable object froma starting location to a remote target and, more particularly, to games wherein one or more toy horseshoes are propelled from a starting location to a remote toy horseshoe peg in an attempt to ring the peg.

It is an object of the invention to provide a toy horseshoe game which affords in compact fashion a simulacrum of a conventional, fullscale horseshoe court.

It is another object of the invention to provide a competitive type of game which particularly lends itself to playing by two persons or two teams of two persons each.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a game which affords a nice balance between skill and luck, and which is enjoyed by persons in a wide age group.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a toy which, owing to the inclusion of fencing and a pair of kicking horses, lends an attractive appearance of rusticity and a feeling of appropriateness to the toy horseshoe game being played.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a game which does not take up much space and is relatively inexpensive, yet which is rugged and durable.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide a generally improved toy horseshoe game.

Other objects, together with the foregoing, are attained in the embodiment described in the following description, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing on the left a toy horse and a toy horseshoe in ready position preparatory to propelling the toy horseshoe along the playing surface toward an upright toy peg on the right;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary, transverse section, to an enlarged scale, taken on the line 2-2 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary, transverse section, to an enlarged scale, taken on the line 33 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary, transverse section, to an enlarged scale, taken on the line 44 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is fragmentary bottom plan view, to enlarged scale, of one end of the playing board;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary sectional view, to an enlarged scale, taken on the line 6-6 in FIGURE 5 and showing the peg in vertical attitude;

FIGURE 7 is a view taken on the same plane as FIG- URE 6, but showing the peg in flush, horizontal attitude; and,

FIGURE 8 is fragmentary top plan view, to an en- Patented Sept. 16, 1969 larged scale, of the peg and attendant counting rings, with the peg in horizontal attitude flush with the playing surface.

While the toy horseshoe game of the invention is susceptible of numerous physical embodiments, depending upon the environment and requirements of use, the herein shown and described embodiment has proved to be most satisfactory.

The game of the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 11 includes an elongated playing board 12 substantially symmetrical about a central, longitudinal axis 13.

Although the upper or playing surface 14 of the board is, on occasion, made horizontal from end to end, it has been found preferable, in the interests of adding difficulty to the game, as well as increasing the rigidity, of the structure, to add at each end of a central, horizontal, elevated panel 16 a pair of oppositely inclined ramps 17 and 18. Fencing 19 along the outer margins of the central panel 16 offers an appropriate decorative detail as well as laterally confining the extent of movement of the toy horseshoes 21, two of which shoes are ordinarily used, as in a full scale game of horseshoes. Suitably profiled side walls 22 support the playing board.

The horseshoes 21 are projected, or propelled, from a location on one ramp to a location on the other ramp, and, more particularly, from a position on one ramp to an upraised target peg 26 on the other ramp. Propulsion is afforded by a carriage 27 slidably mounted on the ramp for movement between a first or retracted, or cocked, position as in indicated on the left-hand ramp 17, as appears in FIGURE 1, and a second, or projected, position, as is indicated by the location of the other carriage 28 on the ramp 18.

As will be appreciated, the device is not only bilaterally symmetrical about the central longitudinal axis 13, but it is also symmetrical about a central transverse axis. Consequently, a description of the structure on one end is equally applicable to the structure on the other end.

The carriage 28, for example, includes an elongated top plate 29 (see FIGURE 3) supported for ready sliding movement on the upper surface of the ramp 18. Connecting the upper plate 29 and a lower retainer plate 31, or flange plate, underlying the ramp 18 is a vertical necked portion 32 slidable between the walls 33 of a longitudinal track 34 formed in the game board and aligned with the central fore and aft axis 13 thereof.

Mounted on the top of each of the carriages 27 and 28 is a toy horse 37 and 38, respectively. Preferably, the horses are in a kicking posture, .as shown, to suggest that the corresponding toy horseshoe, when projected, is kicked by the horse toward its competing counterpart. For ease of identification, the horses are ordinarily provided with differing colors, or markings, the horse 37 being, for example, black (although it is not so shown in FIG- URE 1), the horse 38 being white.

The horses 37 and 38 serve still another purpose, namely, that of affording a convenient hand grip for the player in pulling the carriage outwardly along the track and into retracted, or cooked, position.

Maximum outward movement of each of the carriages 27 and 28 is limited by a pair of limit stops 41 and 42, respectively, mounted adjacent the ramp ends and lodged in the outer ends of the tracks 34.

Having fully retracted the carriage, as, for example, the carriage 27 in the direction indicated by the arrow 46 in FIGURE 1, the horseshoe 21 is placed in the position shown with the arcuate end of the shoe located in the arcuate leading end 47 of the carriage 27 (or in the arcuate leading end 48 of the carriage 28).

It is to be noted, at this juncture, that the radius of curvature of the curved end of the horseshoe does not coincide with the radius of curvature of the concave end of the carriage, but instead is somewhat less. With this arrangement, the player finds it more difficult to orient the horseshoe accurately toward the distant target, and, in this manner, the players skill and the care exercised by the player in the placement of the horseshoe in the concavity is rewarded.

With the components arranged in the positions shown on the left-hand end in FIGURE 1, the player suddenly releases the grip on the horse.

The carriage 27 is thereupon swiftly propelled in the direction of the arrow 60, urging the horseshoe 21 forwardly, toward the distant target 26, by reason of a rubber band 61 (see FIGURES -7) anchored by and extending between a pair of eyes 62 mounted on the bottom of the playing board 12, the center of the rubber band 61 being attached to an eye 63 affixed to the bottom of the slidable carriage.

In fully withdrawn, or retracted, or cocked, position, the carriage assumes the position shown in broken line in FIGURE 5 and indicated by the reference numeral 66. correspondingly, the rubber band 61 assumes the stretched, or cocked, position indicated by the reference numeral 67.

Upon being released, in other words, the carriage is immediately snapped or projected forwardly, urging the horseshoe ahead of it. Then, as the leading end of the carriage neck 32 strikes against the forward end wall 71 of the track 34, the carriage is brought to an abrupt halt and the horseshoe is swiftly launched toward the distant peg.

As will be apparent, the object is to try to ring the peg, in well-known fashion, and thus obtain the maximum possible number of points, the same general scoring rules being utilized in this toy game as are used in .a full-scale horseshoe game.

If the carriage is not retracted far enough, the horseshoe will not reach the peg. On the other hand, depending upon the strength of the resilient band member, a player might find that withdrawing the carriage all the way to the outer limit stop will result in propelling the horseshoe at too great a velocity so that even though the horseshoe rings the peg, it might rebound therefrom. Thus, here again, the exercise of good judgement and coordination is rewarded.

As the horseshoe 21 is projected forwardly toward the distant peg 26 in upright attitude, the horseshoe slides over the top of the adjacent peg 74 which, being flush with the playing board, does not obstruct the horseshoe as it moves along its path.

In other words, the pegs 26 and 74 are both movable between a vertical posture and a horizontal, fiush location depending on which player is throwing the horseshoe.

When the player at the left-hand end in FIGURE 1 has thrown two shoes and his score is computed, the right-hand peg 26 is swung downwardly into flush position and the left-hand peg 74 is lifted to upright position, ready for play by the horse 38 at the right-hand end in FIGURE 1.

In connection with scoring, a plurality of concentric rings 77, 78 and 79 (see FIGURE 8) is provided, with the peg at the center, or bulls eye. Each ring is assigned point score values of decreasing magnitude outwardly. If the horseshoe comes to rest outside and not touching the outermost ring the player receives zero points for such shoe.

The pivoted peg structure appears most clearly in FIG- URE 2 and in FIGURES 5-8.

The peg 26, for example, is received, in horizontal attitude in a fore and aft slot 81 in the playing board. Adjacent to but slightly removed from the end of the peg 26 nearest the horse 38 (see FIGURES 5 and 6) the peg is pivotally mounted on a horizontal, transverse pin 83 journaled in bearings 84 secured to the bottom surface of the playing board. A pair of fore and aft side walls 86 mounted on the bottom of the board is in lateral registry with a stiffening rib 87, mounted on and forming a part of the peg 26, when the peg is in lowered position. The side walls thereby help to prevent any lateral movement of the peg in lowered position thereof.

Vertical registry, or flushness, of the peg is afforded by a transverse limit stop 88 mounted on the bottom of the forward portion of the side walls 86. In other words, the .peg rib 87 comes into abutment with the stop member 88 in lowered position of the peg.

The end of the peg nearest the horse is enlarged to form a substantially semi-circular portion 91 against which the player can press his finger downwardly when it is desired to raise the peg. It will also be noted that the armate margins of the enlarged portion 91 are beveled, as at 92 to abut against a corresponding bevel 93 in the walls of a semi-circular recess 94 in the playing board to receive the semi-circular head 91 in closed, or lowered, position of the peg. Owing to this arrangement, the semicircular head 91 is prevented from protruding above the upper surface of the game board and thus does not interfere with the horseshoe passing over the top thereof.

It can therefore be seen that we have provided a toy horseshoe device whichaffords an enjoyable game comparable in many respects to a full-scale game of horseshoes, yet which achieves its purposes on a game board which is relatively compact in extent.

We claim:

1. A toy horseshoe game comprising:

(a) a gameboard having at least two opposed playing surfaces;

(b) aligned pegs disposed on said playing surfaces;

(c) means pivotally mounting said pegs on said gameboard for movement between a horizontal and a vertical attitude;

(d) opening means disposed adjacent said pegs for receiving said pegs in flush relation with respect to said playing surfaces when said pegs are in said horizontal attitude;

(e) carriages slidably mounted on said playing surfaces and aligned with said pegs;

(f) resilient means for biasing said carriages toward an adjacent one of said pegs;

(g) means mounted on said carriages adjacent the playing surface for engaging a toy-horseshoe; and,

(h) carriage stop means disposed in the path of said carriages, said stop means being effective to halt the movement of said carriages at a predetermined location and ineffective to stop the movement of said toy horseshoe being propelled by said carriages toward an opposed vertical peg.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,525,167 2/ 1925 Comstock. 1,997,238 4/1935 Sharp 273- X 2,007,885 7/1935 Spriggs 273-100 X 2,432,824 12/ 1947 Shetler 273101 2,514,994 7/ 1950 Falk 273100 X 2,912,246 11/1959 Hayward 273-100 X 3,100,642 8/1963 Goldstein 273104 X FOREIGN PATENTS 355,520 6/ 1922 Germany.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner MAX R. PAGE, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 273--l04, 126 

